The Flaming Fist
by Sir Drake
Summary: The world is at peace with the eight crystals returned to their rightful places. Monsters have all disappeared or have been hunted to extinction. However, new monsters have appeared, and an old foe has arisen, but is he truly an enemy?
1. Default Chapter

The Flaming Fist  
  
Prologue:  
  
The giant bird had found its lunch. A little girl, barely seven years old, ran for her life as the monstrous black shadow loomed overhead. The town was in sight now. If only she could reach the gates, then the guards could kill the terrible beast. Not a single monster had been seen near the kingdom of New Eblan in over five years, since the rebuilding of the castle. It had once been safe for the children to play in the area, and the old tower of Bab-il was even somewhat of a tourist attraction, allowing those who climbed it to see the entire island from its summit.  
  
However, this day was different. Little Ellis had been out with her two older brothers playing hide and seek, but something went terribly wrong. While Ellis was hiding, a dark shadow appeared overhead, and her brothers called out for her. However, she did not hear, for she was quite a distance from them. They'll never find me this time, she thought as she buried herself in the sand, nearly a half-mile from the brothers' location. She did not hear their cries, and after awhile she decided that they wouldn't find her so she came out of hiding.  
  
The brothers, giving up hope of finding their sister, not to mention being scared to death, ran off as quickly as they could to escape the huge circling black bird called a Zuu. These monstrous birds had once populated the area, but were hunted to extinction once Eblan was repopulated. However, there was no mistake about it, for a Zuu now hunted Sam and Blake, the older brothers of Ellis. Luckily, these two boys were excellent runners, and they were not far from the castle. Upon entering the castle, the Zuu turned away to hunt much safer prey.  
  
This much safer prey came in the form of little Ellis, whose dark pigtails struggled to keep up with her as she ran as fast as her short legs would pump. She tripped over one of the many stones on the path to Castle Eblan, and found herself with a mouthful of sand. She spat it out, only to realize the horror of the situation. There would be no escape, and she would die here as the meal of this monster. She cried out and turned to look death in the eye, but instead, she saw the bird falling in a spiral toward the ground, its body consumed in flames.  
  
She wiped the tears from her face and blinked a few times to ensure that she wasn't dreaming. She then looked around, wide-eyed with amazement, and saw that she was alive and well, and that her would be killer was itself a smoking carcass on the desert floor. "Huh.?" was all she managed to say as she tried to understand the situation.  
  
"Run little girl," came a deep, commanding voice from behind her.  
  
She spun around, almost falling again. There, about twenty yards from her, stood a figure in a red cloak, the wind whipping his garments every which way. His cape was red and adorned with blue designs, and he wore a skull cap of the same colors and design. His face was stern, yet not unkind. Now it was obvious to Ellis that this man had saved her life, whoever he was. She turned again to regard the dead bird and then looked back toward the man in red. However, there was no man in red, and she was alone. She took the mysterious figure's advice and immediately headed for the castle. 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Too Perfect?  
  
Cecil, king of Baron stood upon the balcony outside his castle room. He overlooked the beautiful country he ruled over, proud to be called its king. However, for a few days now, King Cecil had not been his usual cheerful self. He often wished to be left alone, even finding solitude away from his wife, the queen, on a few occasions. The two were normally inseparable, so many of those closest to Cecil knew that something was wrong.  
  
Since that day on Mount Ordeals, the day Cecil became a Paladin, a knight of justice, he seemed to be in tune with the planet and had a sense for knowing when things were not right. He had felt this way when the power of Zeromus manifested itself on the planet and consumed the mind of his brother and many others, he included at one point. For five years, Cecil felt as if all was right with the world as it recovered from the scars from Zeromus's power.  
  
Recently, a day was celebrated throughout the world when not a single monster was found by hunting parties anywhere on the upper world or the underground. After this day, a great banquet was planned for the rulers of all the kingdoms of both the underground and upper world. At this banquet, a decree of peace would be made between all the leaders, many of whom were friends, and a pledge would be made to never allow an evil to slip into any of the kingdoms. However, since that day, Cecil had begun to have feelings of a dark presence once again.  
  
"Dear you've been up here all day," came the soft, angelic voice of Queen Rosa, Cecil's wife. "Would you please come inside and talk about what is troubling you?"  
  
Cecil sighed as he watched the last traces of pink escape over the horizon, and the first star blinked into the sky. He turned away from the scene and entered his room, much to the delight of Rosa. "I am sorry, love," he said to her. "My mind is troubled of late." He stroked his recently grown white beard, which made him look much older than he was.  
  
"I have noticed," Rosa replied, coming close to him and putting her arms around his neck. "I think you're just nervous about the peace summit. I know I am! World peace is usually something that is simply an ungranted wish."  
  
"Perhaps you are right," Cecil said, taking his wife in his arms and giving her a loving kiss. He backed away then, but still held her. "But I cannot simply dismiss these things as nervousness. I hope you understand."  
  
"You know I support you in everything," Rosa gently replied. "I don't mean to worry you, but I do not like to see you suffer inside, it causes me pain as well. Just enjoy the time we have, because we never know how long it will last. The world is in such perfect shape right now, and we should be happy."  
  
"Yes I know," Cecil sighed and turned back toward the balcony, seeing the now dark sky, which was adorned with twinkling stars. "It just all seems too perfect to me."  
  
"Steady there mates!" came the sharp, demanding tone of the pirate captain Drake Teglen. "That cargo'll net us quite a bit of gold!"  
  
Drake was still a young man, at least by Elvin standards. Not many elves were even seen in the world these days, and Drake was one of those rare cases in which an elf lived outside of his or her home forest. However, Drake Teglen was certainly no ordinary elf. He was a rogue, known and feared for quite some time on the streets of Baron. However, the recent purge of any evil in the world caused Drake to rethink his strategy in life.  
  
He knew he would not last long as a criminal on the streets of the city ruled by King Cecil, the personification of justice in the world. Therefore, he considered alternatives. Not long after the defeat of Zeromus, Drake decided to try piracy. He gathered a few of his fellow thugs, and the pirate crew known as the Red Blade began to scour the seas in search of a profit. While he didn't know much of sailing, his first mate Ghashuk, who was half goblin, did. With his sword skill and Ghashuk's skill at sea, he found quite a comfortable living for a couple of years.  
  
"You bloody fools!" Drake yelled as a crate hit the ground and burst open, causing a load of meat to spill out. "Bah, clean it up! I'll be takin' it outta your pay you know!" Drake sighed and shook his head, returning to his airship and not wishing to watch any more of the chaos.  
  
Yes now Drake and his crew were air pirates. After a couple of years, sea travel became less and less frequent with the perfection of airships. By the third year after Zeromus's defeat, airships were so common that Drake managed to buy one on the black market. He also found little trouble in hiring a pilot for his airship, and he was once again in business. Drake found air piracy to be even more rewarding than sea piracy, and he soon became well known throughout the world as Sir Drake of the Red Blade.  
  
Many authorities had attempted to capture Sir Drake, but no one had an airship that could match the speed and maneuverability of the Red Blade ship. Also, no crew of soldiers was a match for Drake and his crew in combat. Soon, authorities decided that the losses were not so great as to risk more lives in the pursuit of this pirate, so they simply ignored him. Drake didn't seem to care, as he was cashing in on their ignorance.  
  
Drake winced as he heard the sound of another crate hit the ground hard. He only hoped to get enough money out of this sale to make it worth the trip all the way to the island of Eblan. It was not often that he ventured in this region, for he knew that if any authorities could defeat his crew that the ninja of Eblan were the most likely to. However, he hoped to drop off the goods and leave before anyone even knew he was there. Drake then heard sounds of pure chaos from outside. He looked out of his airship window and was in shock of the sight.  
  
"Boss do you really have to leave?" asked an apprentice airship engineer of his master, Cid.  
  
"Yep, I'm afraid so," the aging Cid replied. There were many hints of gray now in his red beard, and his smile was not quite as large as it once was. "I think I've done all I can here, buddy," he said, clasping his former apprentice on the shoulder. "Don't worry, there's plenty o' younguns here that know a lot more about airships than I do that can teach you."  
  
"No sir," said the young man. "You are the best! You practically invented airships!"  
  
"Heh heh," Cid laughed. "Didn't invent 'em, boy, just made 'em better!"  
  
"Still." the boy sighed, truly saddened at the sight of Cid with his bag thrown over his shoulder, about to board his airship and go to a destination he would not reveal.  
  
"Sorry son," Cid said. "Like I said, I've done all I can here. I talked to Cecil, and he took it harder than anybody, but he understands better than anybody that you gotta follow your heart. So. I'm a followin' mine. Got it?"  
  
"Yes sir," the young man replied hesitantly. "I hope to see you again some day and learn from you."  
  
"You just might, son. you just might!" Cid said, flashing his toothy smile one last time before ascending the plank of his airship. He had worked in Baron all his life, and he didn't dare turn around and show the young man the tears now trickling down his face. 


End file.
